5 Influencer Marketing

Case Studies
Introduction

The influencer marketing industry is booming,

and marketers are doubling down on sponsored
content by the billions. A whopping 80% of
marketers find influencer marketing effective,
and nearly 2/3 are increasing their influencer
marketing budgets this year.

As more marketers dive headfirst into influencer

marketing, it helps to study successful influencer
marketing campaigns as a blueprint. These
case studies were handpicked for their unique
creative approach, strong performance, and
valuable insights on building unique influencer
campaigns.

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 Ta b l e o f
Contents

How H&M How Microsoft How Olay Pulled How Dunkin’ How Squarespace
Reached And National An Instagram Donuts Rallies Creatively Drove
12 Million People Geographic Got Engagement Espresso Lovers Conversions
Through Only 4 3.5M Likes On Rate Higher With “Sipping With Pop Culture
Sponsored Videos International Than 8% Is Believing” and Gaming
Women’s Day Campaign YouTubers

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Note: These analyses are solely based on our observations and interpretations of these influencer marketing campaigns.
 In this example, we explore how H&M
leveraged a range of celebrity influencers
to promote its holiday line. Through
collaborations with prominent fashion icons,
H&M produced four highly engaging video ads
that showcased several of its newest holiday
outfits to over 12 million consumers. In the
case study, we break down the factors that led
to the campaign’s success.

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How H&M Reached 12M Consumers
Through Four Sponsored Videos

APPROACH

H&M partnered with four celebrities. Each of the celebrities posted a

10-second “teaser” clip—as well as a full 1-minute ad—across Twitter,
Facebook, and Instagram. There were a total of 6 posts per influencer and 24
posts for the campaign. Each post included #hm as well as a link to the H&M
website.

GOALS
Build brand awareness and desirability around the H&M brand during the
holiday season.

Drive clothing sales, specifically for the holiday line.

Align content with each celebrity’s personality and lifestyle in order to create
authentic content and messaging for H&M.

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The Influencers Results

SOCIAL REACH

12 MILLION
views on YouTube

PEYTON LIST HANNAH SIMONE TYLER POSEY JANA KRAMER

American actress and model British-Canadian television American actor known for American actress and
known for her performances hostess, actress, and former his starring role on the MTV country music singer known
on Disney Channel and in fashion model known for series Teen Wolf. for her performance on the
the Diary of a Wimpy Kid her performance on the TV TV series One Tree Hill.
film series. series New Girl. ENGAGEMENT

1.3M+ likes
Teaser clips were pulled directly from the full ad and posted a couple of days before 14K+ comments
19K+ shares
the full video was released. This strategy helped generate buzz and excitement for the
campaign. Additionally, by presenting the content two different times, H&M was able
to appeal to more viewers and increase the visibility of their campaign. Peyton List and
Jana Kramer actually got more views and engagement on the short clip than the full
video, indicating that in some cases the perfect short clip can be even more effective than
ENGAGEMENT RATE
longer-form content.

10%
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 The Best Celebrity Influencer Examples
From H&M’s Campaign

TYLER POSEY PEYTON LIST

In this humorous sponsored video, Tyler Posey rocks In Peyton List’s video, she models several bedazzled
out too hard while getting dressed, causing a fashion H&M outfits in front of her mirror before finally selecting
emergency that sends him running to H&M. her perfect last-minute holiday party outfit.

25% engagement rate on Instagram 9% engagement rate across all platforms

14% engagement rate across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

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 Best Examples From Microsoft’s
Instagram Marketing Campaign

JANA KRAMER HANNAH SIMONE

In this sponsored video, Jana Kramer and her When Hannah Simone’s cat ruins her outfit in a kitchen
adorable baby girl pose for their Christmas card in accident, Hannah rushes to H&M and comes back
new H&M outfits. looking more stylish than ever.

10% engagement rate on Instagram 12% engagement on Instagram

3.5% engagement across all platforms 3.5% engagement across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

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Why H&M Succeeded

1. CHOSE THE RIGHT INFLUENCERS.

H&M chose its celebrity influencers wisely. Rather than spending the entire
campaign budget on the largest celebrity influencer it could afford, H&M went
with several lesser known celebrities with highly engaged and devoted social
media followings. When it comes to influencer marketing, bigger is not always
better, and H&M’s awareness of this paid off.

2. ALLOWED INFLUENCERS TO CREATE CONTENT THEIR

AUDIENCE WILL LOVE.
The sponsored videos were customized to align with each celebrity’s existing
social media content. For example, Hannah Simone’s sponsored video was
centered around her cat, Alphie, who is frequently featured on her social
media pages. By creating content that was true to each celebrity’s interests and
personality, H&M was able to maximize engagement.

To this point, the top comment on Tyler Posey’s Facebook post was, “Weird thing
is this isn’t Tyler acting for an advertisement it’s actually just him being himself.”
This comment received 1,562 likes, and is a testament to the authenticity of H&M’s
campaign.

3. LEVERAGED EACH INFLUENCER’S SOCIAL PRESENCE

TO REACH CROSS-CHANNEL AUDIENCES.
Lastly, by exploiting all social media platforms available, H&M was able to fully
maximize the reach of its campaign.

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 For International Women’s Day, Microsoft
leveraged National Geographic’s wide-
reaching social media presence as well
as some of the most renowned adventure
photographers to build an Instagram marketing
campaign. In this case study, we’ll take a closer
look at Microsoft’s partnership with National
Geographic and why it succeeded.

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How Microsoft And National
Geographic Got 3.5M Likes On
International Women’s Day
APPROACH
Microsoft’s International Women’s Day Instagram marketing campaign was part of their
“Make What’s Next” campaign. The campaign, which Microsoft launched in 2016
for International Women’s Day and picked back up in 2017, aims to encourage young
girls to work in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Other components of
the campaign include a 60-second TV ad, a career explorer tool created in partnership
with LinkedIn, and a workshop that was available in stores and on Facebook Live on
March 2017.

GOALS
Build brand awareness and foster positive public perception.

Create genuine messaging that encourages girls to pursue jobs in STEM.

Capitalize on a trending worldwide event, International Women’s Day.

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The Influencers Results
SOCIAL REACH

91 MILLION
total followers across
@natgeochannel
National Geographic’s
@natgeo @natgeaoadventue @natgeotravel @natgeoyourshot
five accounts

For the Instagram component of the campaign: ENGAGEMENT

A total of 30 photos were posted on five of National Geographic’s Instagram 3.5M+ likes
channels: @natgeo, @natgeotravel, @natgeaoadventue, @natgeoyourshot, and
@natgeochannel. 115K+ likes per post
The photos were taken by several popular adventure photographers, most of which 1K+ contents
are affiliated with National Geographic.

Each photo caption featured the story of a prominent female scientist or

adventurer.

Each photo caption also included: @Microsoft - Empowering girls to change the
world, stay in STEM, and be the ones to #MakeWhatsNext. Microsoft welcomes
girls for a free workshop with @natgeo personalities at select Microsoft stores on
3/18/2017.

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 Best Examples From Microsoft’s
Instagram Marketing Campaign

NATGEO X CRISTINA MITTERMEIER NATGEO X AMI VITALE

In this post, Mittermeier’s passion for her work as a marine
biologist shines through. Coupled with a stunning visual,
this creates a compelling image that helped deliver
Microsoft’s message to millions in an elegant way that
lent itself to sharing (tags) and organic engagement (likes,
comments, and social sentiment).
This post, which highlights the role Juan served in helping
save the giant panda from extinction, is an excellent
example of why women in STEM matter. By highlighting a
central idea as a part of an important theme, Microsoft’s
message became a part of a larger message likely to
resonate with many.

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NATGEO X NATGEO X KRYSTLE J WRIGHT
This post appeared on the adventure focused National
Geographic sub-account and shows how STEM is vital
to activities like rock climbing, which rely on math
and engineering to make the sport safe and possible.
By finding a real-world application of vital STEM
principles, this post helps align relevant, real-world
applications with Microsoft’s campaign message.
NATGEO X KITRA CAHANA
By focusing on community and the impact of women
working together in science, this image of a young
female scientist serves to inspire other girls to follow
their passion in STEM. The human element in this post
helped bring a strong, resounding idea to Microsoft’s
messaging that extends beyond the brand itself.
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Why Microsoft Succeeded
1. LEVERAGED NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’S ESTABLISHED
SOCIAL MEDIA REACH.

National Geographic has an extraordinarily strong social media presence. It

was recently named the #1 brand on social media by Shareablee based on
a combination of followers and engagement data. By partnering with a well
established and credible brand publisher on social, Microsoft was able to reach
an enormous audience of 91 million.

2. ALIGNED CAMPAIGN MESSAGING AND DATE WITH AN

INTERNATIONAL HOLIDAY.
By planning its campaign in conjunction with International Women’s Day,
Microsoft was able to contribute relevant content to the IWD conversation and
maximize its campaign’s impact.

3. SHOWCASED AUTHENTIC STORIES AND POWERFUL

IMAGERY THROUGH SPONSORED POSTS ON INSTAGRAM.
Microsoft crafted its sponsored posts around stories of real human
experiences. The faces of this campaign were real faces with real stories,
and that was a powerful core element. This strategy helped Microsoft connect
and engage with audiences on a deeper level and build long-term brand
awareness and approval.

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 The beauty influencer industry is a
crowded space, meaning it can be tricky for
brands to break through and achieve ROI.
In order to stand out in the crowd,
established beauty brands like Olay can
leverage Instagram influencer marketing
coupled with good old-fashioned cause
marketing to share a unique message.

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How Olay Achieved An Instagram
Engagement Rate Higher Than 8%

APPROACH

In mid-August 2018, Olay announced a campaign centered on a handful

of female influencers to encourage women to be “unapologetically”
themselves and to disregard all comments that they were “too much”
of any particular quality. They partenered with nine diverse women
(referred to as the “Fearless 9”) as the faces of the campaign. Olay built
a dedicated micro-site that hosted behind the scenes footage of the
photoshoot with Vogue, who published the campaign in its September
issue.

GOALS
Connect to a diverse audience (primarily female) to generate relatability
through female icons.

Increase brand awareness to encourage women to embrace their real beauty

and defy societal expectations.

Establish brand affinity and subsequent product sales through Olay’s

dedication to empowering women.

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The Influencers Results
SOCIAL REACH

298K
@alyraisman @denisebidot @iisuperwomanii @elyse.fox @jillianmercado video views

21 MILLION
followers targeted

ENGAGEMENT

@angela.dimayuga
1.4M+ likes
@mamacaxx @heykayadams @pieraluisa

11K+ comments
The “Fearless 9” includes an impressive lineup of models and athletes, such as
1K+ hashtag uses
Aly Raisman and Denise Bidot, as well as other female powerhouses, like Jillian
Mercado and Piera Gelardi. Using the #FaceAnything hashtag as their signature,
Olay aimed to spark a movement for all women to embrace natural beauty. The
ENGAGEMENT RATE
28-day challenge encouraged each influerncer to break free from their normal beauty

8.33%
routines in exchange for Olay skincare products and a makeup-free event at the
challenge’s termination.

Alongside the nine women featured in the Vogue spread, Olay reached out to
an assortment of lifestyle, beauty, and skincare influencers to partake in a 28-day
challenge in which each received custom packages of Olay’s products to be used in
preparation of a major makeupless moment.

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DENISE BIDOT LILLY SINGH

Denise Bidot shared a few different sponsored
#FaceAnything posts, with one featuring a long-form
caption that details her new skincare regimen with a few
Olay products. Denise shared the positive results of the new
regime, and a photo of her glowing skin without makeup.
Lilly Singh shared a couple of posts in support of the
campaign, celebrating the exciting news of being part of
the New York Fashion Week runway cast walking without
makeup. She also expresses gratitude for being included
on the billboard in Times Square promoting the cause of
self-love and natural beauty.

522K potential impressions 134 Instagram comments 7.9M potential impressions 4.7K Instagram comments
11K likes on Instagram 2.2% engagement rate 674K likes on Instagram 8.6% engagement rate

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MAMA CAX NABELA NOOR

Mama Cax, an outspoken cancer survivor, shared several posts Nabela Noor took to Instagram with multiple posts that
throughout the campaign, including this one which captures document her new Olay routine and add color to her past
a special moment in which she poses in front of her newly with skincare problems. In this initial post, Nabela kicks off
erected Times Square billboard. the challenge and invites her audience to live fearlessly as
well.
16K likes on Instagram 65K likes on Instagram
398 comments on Instagram 575 comments on Instagram
9.9% engagement rate 6.58% engagement rate

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MARI TAKAHASHI CHRISTEN DOMINIQUE

Perhaps better known for her ballerina and gaming skills,
Mari Takahashi, shared how much of a difference the Olay
skincare products made. She describes the liberating feeling
of walking the runway without makeup and embraces what
Olay stands for by painting beauty in all her flaws.
Christen Dominique highlights her glow in a series of
posts that capture her enthusiasm for the campaign
challenge. She features photos with her renewed skin and
includes engaging captions to build suspense and keep
her audience’s attention.

26K likes on Instagram 50K likes on Instagram

331 comments on Instagram 304 comments on Instagram
7.19% engagement rate 3.64% engagement rate

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Why Olay Succeeded

1. CHOSE A CORE GROUP OF “FEARLESS 9” INFLUENCERS.

Olay carefully selected a diverse range of influencers for the Fearless 9, women
who were excited about the idea of being vulnerable, telling personal stories, and
committing to posing makeup-free for photos.

2. SUPPORTED INFLUENCERS IN SHARING PERSONAL STORIES

AND AUTHENTIC CONTENT.
Olay set the rules of the 28-day challenge, coined the #FaceAnything hashtag, and
sent products to influencers, but aside from that let the influencers tell their
own story about how the products worked for them.

The storytelling was highly personal, as the Fearless 9 explored different ways
women feel the need to hide their face, their feelings, or themselves. Some talked
about times they’ve been told they’re too much of a particular quality such
as “too strong,” or “too emotional,” while others explored their personal
skincare problems and pushed back on traditional standards of beauty.

3. CONNECTED WITH YOUNG AUDIENCES THROUGH

AUTHENTIC MESSAGING.
The authentic nature of this type of marketing resonates with Millennials and Gen
Z consumers, who hold brands to high standards and often find influencers more
trustworthy than celebrities or other branded content. 54% of Millennial women
prefer the “natural look,” while 84% believe social media acts as the driving force
behind the definition of beauty, and Olay tapped directly into these feelings.

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 Dunkin’ Donuts is a veritable behemoth of
the food and beverage industry. Last year, the
company generated $300 million in coffee
sales alone as it moved to target a younger,
digitally-centric generation. No surprise then,
that Dunkin’ has scoped the potential of both
nano- and micro-influencers to improve their
social media engagement as part of a ‘coffee-
first’ strategy to make headway into Starbucks’
audiences. Here’s how they found success.
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Dunkin’ Donuts Marketing
Strategy Rallies Espresso
Lovers With “Sipping Is
Believing” Campaign

APPROACH
Dunkin’s increasing popularity as a provider of drinks to consumers is
what underlies this campaign. Coffee is front-and-center while their
signature donuts receive little mention.

Dunkin’s marketing strategy was defined by a concerted effort to reach

an authentic audience and produce high engagement by utilizing nano-
and micro-influencers located primarily in Philadelphia. Posts mainly
focused on being realistic and relatable to the audience, promoting
Dunkin’s new handcrafted espresso drinks.

GOALS
Raise awareness of Dunkin’s coffee-first focus as part of its rebrand

Raise awareness of its handcrafted espresso to capitalize on the beverage’s

increasing popularity.

Improve engagement on Instagram to improve its social media presence (1.5M

Instagram followers compared to Starbucks’ 17.4M)

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 The Influencers Results
SOCIAL REACH

1.1 MILLION
Followers Targeted
@josheatsphilly @_kdevinney @rievictoriaaoki @vanessaferraiolo @whatwouldreado

ENGAGEMENT

Dunkin’s influencer marketing campaign featured a variety of influencers with 50,000

followers and below, centered around the city of Philadelphia. Influencers produced 21K+ likes
natural-looking posts to appeal to their smaller, more personal followings. 965 comments
Our analysis showed nano-influencers generated higher engagement rates in this case,
and Dunkin’ succeeded in organically growing a support base for its coffee ambitions.
Dunkin’ partnered primarily with female influencers, although their campaign featured
a diversity of Instagrammers.
ENGAGEMENT RATE

5.2%
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VANESSA LACE
Vanessa Lace primarily posts fashion and lifestyle updates to
her 3,000 followers and uploaded a single sponsored post for
Dunkin’, featuring her drinking an espresso in her hometown,
Philadelphia. Vanessa’s appeal to the typically coveted Millennial
audience on Instagram is key for Dunkin’s attempts to challenge
more established coffee brands. She used the campaign tags
#sippingisbelieving and #phillyrunsondunkin.
732 likes on Instagram
63 comments on Instagram
26.1% engagement rate
REANNOIN CELINS
Reannoin Jean Celins uploads fashion and lifestyle photos
for her following. Her online presence bears a striking
resemblance to Vanessa’s: both are based in Philadelphia,
have just over 3,000 followers, and appeal to a younger
female audience. Celins posted a single lighthearted post
with some clear personal input in the description while
remaining consistent with the brand message and tags.
291 likes on Instagram
24 comments on Instagram
9.9% engagement rate
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Why Dunkin’ Donuts Succeeded

1. TAPPED INTO AUTHENTIC FOLLOWERS WITH

SMALL NANO-INFLUENCERS.
Dunkin donuts partnered with nano-influencers in the Philadelphia area to start
a more personal, grassroots movement around their coffee. While the reach was
obviously smaller, the engagement on these posts was signifantly higher, and the
follower responses were more intimate.

2. KEPT THE CAMPAIGN FOCUS TIGHT.

Too many influencer marketing campaigns fall prey to having too many goals
and elements packed into a single campaign. They might include a nationwide
contest, plus several campaign hashtags, plus a discount code for a product, plus
a big event activation, etc.

This campaign was highly localized, had two simple hashtags (#phillyrunsondunkin
and #sippingisbelieving) and focused closely on increasing awaress and
engagment around Dunkin’s new espresso drinks.

3. LEVERAGED LOCAL PHILLY PRIDE.

Each of the posts played off local pride in different ways. In some cases influencers
took photos in iconic places all around the city, like the Lincoln Park Nature
Boardwalk, while other posts like this celebrated the Philadelphia Eagles. This
coupled with working with nano-influencers made the content highly targeted and
tailored to the young, coffee-drinking Philadelphia audience.

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 There are a lot of website-building tools out
there, but Squarespace has emerged as a
titan of the industry. Here’s how Squarespace
collaborated with top science, gaming, and
pop culture YouTube channels to drive both
awareness and conversions for their service.

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How Squarespace Creatively Drove
Conversions With Top YouTubers

APPROACH
Identify and partner with the top YouTuber channels in popular culture,
learning, gaming, and movie niches including: Good Mythical Morning,
Cinema Sins, Ray William Johnson, and Tyler Oakley

Collaborate and concept strategic video integrations showcasing

Squarespace’s services and unique features

Ideate with YouTubers to create content that provides relevance to their

unique audiences

GOALS
Primary Objective - to Drive conversions (sign-ups) for Squarespace’s website
building services by targeting audiences across a variety of select demographics

Secondary Objective(s) - Creatively partner and align with top YouTubers and
YouTube channels creating original content and visibility to drive both awareness
and engagement for Squarespace

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The Influencers Results

VIEW

34 MILLION
views on YouTube

CRASHCOURSE ASAPSCIENCE GOOD MYTHICAL RAY WILLIAM JOHNSON

MORNING

REACH

58M+ likes

CINEMA SINS SCREEN JUNKIES THE GAME THEORISTS

Squarespace recruited a variety of YouTubers for their campaign, including (by category):
CONVERSIONS
Learning: AsapSCIENCE, CrashCourse, Minute Physics
Increased signups
News and Pop Culture: Good Mythical Morning, Philip DeFranco, Ray for Squarespace’s
William Johnson, Tyler Oakley website builder

Movies: Cinema Sins, Screen Junkies

Gaming: The Game Theorists

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 Squarespace With Popular YouTubers
THE GAME THEORISTS
Popular YouTube gaming channel, The Game Theorists,
presents two sponsored videos with Squarespace. Each
video, both with over 5+ million views, feature well-animated
Squarespace illustrations showcasing specific features and
services all presented in Game Theorist’s signature style.
Starting at 14:05, MatPat (the YouTuber behind the channel)
candidly explains to his audience how sponsorships work
followed by relevant screen share examples of what he is able
to do with Squarespace.
GOOD MYTHICAL MORNING
In addition to a sponsored video, top YouTuber channel
Good Mythical Morning (GMM) with over 8.5+ million
subscribers links to a dedicated Squarespace landing page
www.theinternetisaweirdplace.com.
The landing page features a dedicated video sponsorship
and leverages their high-reach video views and audience to
drive traffic to Squarespace.
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RAY WILLIAM JOHNSON
In addition to both an introductory sponsor callout and
channel promo offer, top YouTuber channel Ray William
Johnson (with close to 11 million subscribers) presents
a detailed outro demonstration beginning at 6:24.
Similar to The Game Theorists’ sponsored approach, Ray
presents an inside look at Squarespace’s unique features
that’s well-integrated with his usual conversational,
humorous style.
CRASHCOURSE
For popular learning channel CrashCourse, Squarespace
sponsored a series of astronomy courses presented by
Phil Plait (one of the instructors on PBS’s YouTube channel,
CourseCourse).
By sponsoring this series, Squarespace ensures that their
brand will continually be seen by millions of viewers
searching for educational videos. Because CrashCourse’s
content is evergreen, Squarespace will continue to
capture viewers perpetually, long after the videos’ initial
post dates.
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Why Squarespace Succeeded

1. CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUCESSFUL YOUTUBERS.

Squarespace collaborated with many top YouTubers as well as popular YouTube
channels in science, gaming, and pop culture. Campaigns were creatively driven
by the influencers themselves, and delivered in a tone and style the YouTuber’s
fans would respond to.

2. CLEAR TRACKING LINKS AND DISCOUNT CODES.

The sponsored videos were designed to drive both awareness and conversions
for their online service, and each had a very clear call-to-action and link that users
could click on in the description.

This enabled Squarespace to easily track sign-ups by influencer, and gain valuable
insights for sponsorships in the future.

3. EVERGREEN APPROACH TO EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS.

Squarespace sponsored educational video content, such as the science video
series on PBS’ Digital Studios “Crash Course” educational channel.

Unlike one-off pop culture videos that could lose their relevance in a couple
years, the educational videos were strategically designed to drive awareness for
many years to come as users continued seeking out these videos for educational
purposes.

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Blue Apron, Nordstrom, Hallmark,
NextGames, LG, and Sony Pictures. We
drive high-impact results powered by
years of experience and strong influencer
relationships.

Find out how we can create a custom

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